Howdy, y'all; after MANY more hours than I expected for this
job, I'm almost ready to remove the head ('96 Eclipse GS) so
that I can replace the head gasket. I've purchased all of the
parts that I need (head gasket, head bolts, timing belt,
coolant pump, accessory drive belts, and power-steering
adjuster pulley, based on a Mr. Bishi technical service
bulletin about misaligned power-steering pump belts), but I'm
stuck at the removal of the intake manifold "stays"
(as the Brit-speak Haynes manual calls 'em; we call 'em
brackets). Everything else is off, including the passenger's
side engine mount bracket. Thanks (again) to all of you in a
chat session who helped with that mini-ordeal.

What's the best way to remove the infernal intake manifold
brackets? I can't get at 'em from above, and, even though the
passenger's side is jacked up, can't quite get at 'em from
underneath because of the cast splash plate that sticks out
from the rear of the engine. Looks like removal of the oil
filter will help so that I can get my arm up there.

At times like this, I think that Mr. Bishi expected
maintenance to be done by 100# women, but with wrists as
strong as Popeye's.

Any other tips that would apply to the re-assembly phase of
this project? TIA.

Andy
The OC, SoCal, USA.

P.S. Has anybody written a more complete description of this
job "in situ" than the Haynes manual? This VFAQ
document only discusses the timing belt, and doesn't address
the more difficult aspects of the head gasket, including the
engine mount removal, and the intake manifold brackets.
http://www.vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-2G-NT.html

also, theres a TSB for the Head gasket bolts, well the holes
any way. the rear driver side bolt hole is slightly shallow,
so shave off a few threads on ur headbolt for that hole.. just
a heads up, so u dont have to do it again.. and dont forget
the copper gasket spray!!

also, what HG did u get? hopefully a mopar/mitsu one..

also, remove the brackets.. , i left the bottom half of the
intake mani on for leverage, im a small guy so i needed it, if
your popeye, then take off the whole intke manifold, so ull
just have the head left, and then rip that sucker off.

[div class="dcquote"][i][b]Originally posted by
twinvenges[/i][/b]
also, theres a TSB for the Head gasket bolts, well the holes
any way. the rear driver side bolt hole is slightly shallow,
so shave off a few threads on ur headbolt for that hole.. just
a heads up, so u dont have to do it again.. and dont forget
the copper gasket spray!!  also, what HG did u get? hopefully
a mopar/mitsu one..  also, remove the brackets.. , i left the
bottom half of the intake mani on for leverage, im a small guy
so i needed it, if your popeye, then take off the whole intke
manifold, so ull just have the head left, and then rip that
sucker off.
[/div]

Thanx for your note, Twinvenges. I didn't see the TSB for the
bolts; do you happen to know the TSB number? I subscribe to
the AlldataDIY database, but I've discovered that the list of
TSBs provided for my '96 GS isn't complete. I checked the
AlldataDIY list against the NHTSA TSB/recall list, and
discovered that several were missing. When I wrote to
AlldataDIY about the problem, they told me that I was
essentially SOL.

What's the purpose of the copper gasket spray? And I bought
the Fel-pro MLS ("metal-layer sandwich"?) gasket,
which should be functionally equivalent to the OEM gasket,
given that the OEM doesn't actually make gaskets, and may have
contracted with a company like Fel-pro to supply it.

And what's the best way to remove the intake-manifold brackets
without removing the manifold itself? I'm having trouble
getting at 'em from underneath the car, and can't get anywhere
near 'em from the engine compartment.

TIA.

on a GS you have to get them from directly under the car at
the rear of the engine.  ie jack up the front and crawl under.

to get to the supports you have to take off the Cruise control
vac resivor.  they are 10mm nuts on the ends of the same bolts
your gonna be removing to get the manifold off.
get these off, drop the big plastic thing down and you should
plainly be able to see the support bolts.
iirc i got mine off with 14mm deep well sockets.
sometimes it is easier to unplug some of the wire harness from
underneath there to give you a clearer view of the stuff.

That font is so hard to read.....